CBI takes over case of Birbhum killings following Calcutta HC order

The CBI on Friday took over the case of killing of eight people in Birbhum district of West Bengal, hours after a Calcutta High Court order.

The CBI case will be monitored by a Joint Director-level officer and supervised by a DIG/SP-ranked official, they said.

The agency has already dispatched a team, along with eight experts from the Central Forensic Science Laboratory (CFSL) who have visited the site of crime, they said.

Miscreants had on March 21 set 10 houses on fire in Bogtui village in Birbhum district, killing eight people including women and children, in a suspected fallout of the murder of a ruling Trinamool Congress leader and upa-pradhan' (deputy chief) of the local panchayat.

The Calcutta High Court on Friday directed the CBI to take over the investigation into the case from the state police and submit a progress report before it on the next date of hearing.

The court, which suo motu took up the case on Wednesday, said that facts and circumstances demand that the investigation be handed over to the CBI in the interest of justice and also to instill confidence in the society.

"We direct the CBI to forthwith take over the investigation in the case and submit the progress report before us on the next date of hearing," the court said in its order.

The matter will be heard again by the court on April 7.

Noting that the incident had a "nationwide ramification", a division bench headed by Chief Justice Prakash Shrivastava asked the West Bengal government to extend full cooperation to the central agency.